Drag and pressure pulsation reduction of a low-specific-speed centrifugal pump by employing bionic structure

To improve the performance of a low-specific-speed centrifugal pump, the bionic structure extracted from the dung beetle was distributed on the blade surface to reduce the drag. The flow fields in the centrifugal pumps with and without the bionic structure blade were calculated based on the RNG [Formula: see text]–[Formula: see text] turbulence model. The results showed that the bionic structure can reduce the energy loss and improve the hydraulic efficiency of the centrifugal pump, with a maximum increase of 5%. The bionic structure can affect the turbulence structure of the boundary layer near the wall and reduce the blade outlet velocity gradient and wall shear, thereby improving the pressure pulsation characteristics of the centrifugal pump. With the increase in flow, the drag reduction gradually becomes evident for the impeller with a bionic structure.